hi, i was just wondering what everyone's viewpoint is on smoking weed once you've gotten off an addictive substance...i've been off of vicodin for about three months, and the other night i smoked a little bit (not even enough to really get high.) i guess some in NA would consider this a lapse, but i think everyone's different and weed is not the same as purely addictive substances like opiates...lemme know whats poppin with this.
Weed is still a "mind altering" substance, which still means you are trying to "escape"....and you want that warm, fuzzy feeling that "we" all like so much. That is AA's and NA"S point of view and it would be considered a "relapse". The other experience I can share is that it will (could) lead back to the other "stuff" eventually. Why did you smoke it if you din't even smoke enough to get you high? If I am going to do something I want the "full" benefit from it!!! It's kinda like "doing the same thing expecting different results"!!!
A drug is a drug.You cant substitute one for the other,thats 'cross addiction'.Anyway,Weed is still a drug,Please dont fool yourself into thinking that just b/c youre off of one drug that its OK to start another one.
__________________
The idle mind is the Devil's workshop.
Sburch: It wasn't my choice; I wanted the "full effect" but it wasn't available (I only had a little bit leftover from a long time ago, and no money to get more). I know it alters your mind, but is any of this what you actually believe or have experienced, or is it just the dogma of NA/AA? Caffeine and tobacco are "mind-altering substances" as are chocolate, sugar and tea, so where does NA/AA stand on these substances?
Antisocial: I know that drugs are drugs, but I'm not trying to "substitute" cannabis for hydrocodone...I don't want to smoke every day, have my mind fixated on getting my next bag constantly, and be miserable whenever I can't find cannabis...I intend for it, if I use it, to be an occasional thing, only when I have no responsibilities to which to tend.
Get back to me fellas (also, if anyone out there does NOT participate in meetings, and can shed some light on the topic via personal experience, please do so).
Last edited by opiateskill000; 10-24-2004 at 07:08 PM.
If you are waiting for someone to give you the answer you WANT. The answer you get will be much different. I used to be in search for the person who would tell me that whatever drug I was doing was okay. It's frustrating isent it?
I go to Meetings too, that's how I stay sober.
Good luck to you, I hope you get the help you need.
Sincerely and with hope,
Sara
__________________
"I believe that friends lift us up when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
-Sara
Sarandipity: I'm looking for someone to give me an unbiased, informed answer reached by personal experience. I know that NA/AA meetings suggest NEVER taking ANY substance EVER for the rest of your life, and I could be wrong, but it seems a bit over-cautious. Certainly, while recovering from depression, anxiety, fatigue, etc., one should remain sober, but once your life is on track, is it really a failure if you smoke cannabis seldomly or drink a beer? Maybe for some people, one bowl or one beer will send them into full-fledged addiction, but surely that's not the case universally. I just want personal opinion, not NA/AA's standpoint, which has been made abundantly clear already. I'm 18 and attending a nice, private University...if I recover from my addiction and become a stable person and then go to a party and have a drink, I don't see that as utterly self-destructive or as purely addictive behavior, but I could be wrong.
Last edited by opiateskill000; 10-24-2004 at 07:35 PM.
i can give you my opinion....
I DO smoke occasionally...it does help my appetite and with sleep. I don't feel it is substituting because it is something that i have always done. Every one is right though about substituting one drug for another...be very careful you are still very early in recovery.
I don't find it all that mind=altering and it certainly wouldn't alter my mind enough to relapse....but that is just me.
A lot of people in recovery feel that a drug is a drug....i think you should really try to abstain from any type of drug,,,, that is the best way to a healthy,normal life.
I wouldn't freak out about it, you smoked,just move on....
Congrats on 3 months clean by the way!!!!!
luv,
LISA
Thanks Lisa...
You're right, I am early in recovery, and I'm not really dwelling on what I did. I think I shouldn't have smoked, but at least I didn't pop some vikes...my point is more about what I do once I'm really truly genuinely definately BETTER...when I feel like my old self, when I have all my energy and am doing new things...
Cannabis does alter my mind though, as far as I feel a lot more creative and tranquil on it, but it doesn't cloud my judgement to the point where I'd start using painkillers. Cannabis, for me, is fun when you're actively involved in life...Vikes, for me, were fun for withdrawing from life...but again, I could be wrong.
Are you an addict? There's 15% of addicts and alcoholics, and 85 % normies which can include hard core druggers and drinkers. An addict is a person who given suffencient reason to quit, still cannot.
I for one am definately an addict. I used to use x and dance and vomit, and take more x. I used rx pain meds more than prescribed. I have kids, I have a great job, I could not quit on my own. Am I making sense?
Anyway, I envy people who can drink or drug and know when to quit. There is a great book you should read, its called when medicine is dangerous. It has some really good biological facts about people with the disease of alcoholism and addiction.
I just got home from a 31 day rehab and it saved my life.
If you are on an addiction and recovery board, and you are an occasional weed smoker, I can see where people might get the wrong idea about you and you about them.
__________________
"I believe that friends lift us up when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
-Sara
Ya know i just read another post by you and it said that you DID in fact, have a previous problem w/weed....so why even ask...you know the answer....
Especially when you say that it gave you anxiety, you definitely don't want the weed to add to your anxiety.
You are so young...only 18....just try to enjoy life drug-free...give it some more time. Try to appreciate the little things in life...the fresh morning air, or a good tune on the radio...try to see things for what they are.
STay off ALL drugs....no weed, no coke, crack, heroin, pills, alcohol and anything else i mentioned. Keep yourself busy and stay away from "friends" that use....they will do nothing but bring you down.
I wish at 18, i had the chance to realize that i was an addict....
You have your whole life ahead of you...don't let it be fogged by drugs.
Keep me posted, i would love to help any other way i can...
luv,
LISA
Lisa: you caught me lol. i did have a problem with weed, and (justification?) i smoked it during a bad bad time in my life...my concern is that weed did not ALWAYS give me anxiety, the first many many times i smoked i would simply get stoned (hard to describe, you know the feeling: munchies, heavy eyes, music = amazing, food = orgasmic). so basically, my theory (justification? lol) is that if i get my head straight and get my life on track, maybe I could just smoke a little weed and be responsible with it and have a good enough life not to let it control me...i used cannabis during good times, but more importantly/stupidly, during bad times (divorce in the family, alcoholism in the family, social isolation, etc.)...i would not say that weed gives me anxiety per say, so much as irresponsible use of it gives me anxiety...anyway, overall you're probably right, i should just learn to enjoy my life without chemicals, but i'm 18 and i don't think so clearly all the time, sometimes i just wanna blaze a fat one.
I belive what you do. i always have. " weed was differnt". Well let me tell you that i am trying to kick a meth habit now!!!!! it doesnt stay just weed. Trust me. I have tryed everyway possiable to smoke my bud. and i always end up with a glass pipe full of crystal. I have a bad problem and need help. i have been reading this site for over a month and never wrote anything. But your message just made me feel i had to share what i am going throught. My biggest problem is the cravings. Dont think you can smoke weed and everthing will be okay, at first it will be then without you knowing it,everything changes. for me i ended up in jail!!! {for 7 months}.
heidianne
Opiatekills. I can relate to you 100%. I am now 16 days clean and feeling much better, still early but very glad i took a step. My last relapse was with marijuana and then back to my drug of choice (vicodin). One my suppose id be against using marijuana during recovery, but it is still a undecided issue for me. Its a very controversial issue and i dont believe any answer is right nor wrong. You say you want to do it again once you are fully recovered and feeling normal once again, but these feelings might be a result of you wanting to smoke marijuana real bad. Oneday you might have a really big urge to smoke, and at that moment might feel calm and collected and confident and sure of yourself. Your giving yourself a window of opportunity for your addiction to reestablish itself by saying once everythings better and you have adequate clean time youi can do it again. Dont dwell on your small lapse, it happens to everybody and theres always something you can learn from a lapse or relapse, but what you have to do is really LEARN from it. I think its very smart of you to post on here and listen to opinions, because you know as well as i do that trusting your own judgement when it comes to these kinds of things is probably not a good idea for us addicts. Rationalization is the bigest aspect that will effect your judgement. Rationalizing that you feel good when you really dont "in order to smoke", along with many others that run through our silly heads on a daily basis. Most of this post is one sided and definatly shows you it probably isnt a good idea to smoke. On the other hand I am no expert and everybody is not the same. So one person might be able to smoke without relapsing to their drug of choice while others most definatly will. You have not experienced a relapse as of yet and dont have any personal experience with the issue so i understand the conflict that must be going on in your head. My undecidedness can also be a way for my addict brain to set myself up for another relapse. Us addicts are very complicated and it is very hard for us to understand ourselves, letalone others. We can make theorys and ideas, but there are no cleancut answers. To sum up my long and probably meaningless post, I wholeheartedly dont think smoking marijuana during recovery is a good idea at best. Keep it simple stupid ;-). Wish i could take that advice myself lol, babblin like a foo, makin things complicated, owell read my post and make your own judgement. Good topic, keep up the good work
-STeve
All NA/AA people will tell you the same rhetoric that has been programmed into their brain over and over.Oddly enough,very few of them have ever read their own book.They go to a lot of MEETINGS where they get a mix of new-age selfhelp principles mixed in with a buffet style menu of pick and choose philosophies.
The first 164 pages of the AA big book outlines a spiritual program of recovery,NOT a physical one e.g. they give No advice on NOT drinking,but actually reccomend it 3 times if you're unsure of your alcoholism.Most of the original 100 used benzo's and barbs as they did NOT think this was a slip...they were ALCOHOLICS.
Funny...when I was in rehab recently,it really rankled the staff that I wouldn't identify myself as an alcoholic.I drink periodically,never lose control,never really think about it,go months without it,but these idiots want me to take it as serious as my very REAL drug addiction.
This is the herd mentality current view on chemical problems...you guys are all the same....so why am I not in Sex anonymous or OA or gamblers anonymous...I must be all those too,right???
The truth is,we all have a little voice inside us that tells us the answers to these things.Sometimes we need to hear other peoples experience,advice...right or wrong,to make our own decisions...
I really think the PROGRAM of AA is a wonderful thing(the plan of action in the first 164 pages)...the fellowship,the meetings,their mantras and story telling........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......... .zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........zzzzzzzzzzzzz z.............zzzzzzzzzzzzz............. ....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............zzzzzzz zzzzzzz..........zzzzzzzzzz............z zzzzzzzzzzzz..............zzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzz..........zzzzzzzzz
pot is just that...it's freakin' pot. I wish I could still smoke it...maybe I wouldn't have turned into a real addict.
please keep posting, this is interesting and i think it's important not only to me but to many many others out there, because weed often holds the connotation of being unlike the rest of drugs...glad to hear your responses.
Last edited by opiateskill000; 10-24-2004 at 08:58 PM.
Opiates, there is a BIG difference between a "habit" and an "addiction". I have an "addictive" personality so therefore I need to be cautious about everything I do!! I am also a bit obsessive/compulsive. This is just me and the way I am. I have an addiction to cigarettes and when I have tried to get off cigs. it was and is harder for me than getting off alcohol or drugs. I can make myself addicted to ANYTHING! For me this is very much a "weakness" in my mind. This has nothing to do with "willpower"!! Addiction has nothing to do with "willpower" as alot of people think!! It is a DISEASE! You used "pot" because you were having trouble with dealing with "reality"...ie. divorce, alcoholism. social isolation etc. You could not find any other way of coping so you turned to drugs. This does not sound like a "social" experience to me! You also apparently have alcoholism in you family and yes you are young!! Take "lisaahubb"s" advice and smell the roses. Find other ways, healthy ways, to cope with the "bad" things that you go through! Things that you read on the boards are experiences that people have had and are having. These are all "YETS" for you. You are free to make any choices you want--so far. But that "freedom" will not last long if you get caught up in the drug scene. Why did you take Vicodin for 3 mos.? You liked the feeling that it gave you, right? That is a sign that there may be more to this than you realize. Why are you reading this board? Something is trying to tell you something? Do what you want. We'll be here for you no matter what. We'll be here for you when you come back really needing help! We love you and care about you. But I know for myself I had to do this the hard way and find out all this stuff for myself! I had to experience all the "hard knocks" before I was serious enough to seek help. I guess if you don't try it you will never know! I wish you luck and let us know what happens...Love, S
yes weed is different BUT the thing is that it will eventually lead you to other stronger drugs. I have built up such a tolerence to most drugs that I need more to do the job. I haven't smoked crack or any of that stuff because I KNOW fo a fact that I would like it. I have trien cocaine and really liked it but thank God I didn't get addicted to it (I could have very easily) but I can't afford those types of drugs and I have seen what it does to people so they can get there next fix. I am "enslaved" enough right now with the pain med that I am on (and truly need for the chronic pain I have) and it can be miserable at times as it is. I have tried pot (recently) and I have to smoke so much of it now before I get that warm, fuzzy feeling and I can't afford that either! Trust me sometimes I wish I had allot of money so I could buy all that good stuff! But I also know that it would "bankrupt" ME eventually and I don't want that.
Sburch: I don't ever want to use weed (or any chemical) to cope with the bad things in life, that's why I stopped. Also, I didn't use vics for 3 months, I used them for about a year (and it was not a habit, it was ADDICTION, as in taking them every day, having withdrawal, not caring about anything else, denial, etc.)...the point that I am trying to make on this post is that once (if ever, fingers crossed) I really recover from opiate addiction, and set my life on track, and feel content with myself and do active healthy things in my life, while I'm "smelling the roses" maybe I could smoke weed occasionally? I think it's way to early for me to be smoking now and I won't do it again, but I'm talking about (and I don't know why...) maybe for argument's sake, in two years from now. If I have been sober for over two years, I've made friends, I have a job, and all that good stuff, I really honestly wholly believe that weed would not send me back into addiction...i'm a college student, and to say that in the next 4 years of school i'll never get f'ed up again sounds silly to me.
however, i should be focusing on getting to the point of comfort with myself that i've talked about (ie: making friends, getting a job, etc.) and this is just a distraction to me because for some reason i love weed.
maybe something to think on; my meth addicted sister had 210 days clean!!!! then when her probation was over she started smoking pot to calm her nerves. within 11 days she was in the grips of monsterous meth binge that put her back to squar 1 with her WHOLE life.
just b/c she ended up relapsing dosn't mean u will. but on the other hand is it all worth it in the end either way??
After having experienced opiate buzzes you'll find that pot doesn't do much for you. No use even smoking it....the buzz you are looking for won't be found in a joint or a bong hit. Paranoia is usually the buzz with pot after you've been strung out on opiates. No use, man.
Re: Smoking Cannabis After Drug Addiction? 
Weed is still a "mind altering" substance, which still means you are trying to "escape"....and you want that warm, fuzzy feeling that "we" all like so much. That is AA's and NA"S point of view and it would be considered a "relapse". The other experience I can share is that it will (could) lead back to the other "stuff" eventually. Why did you smoke it if you din't even smoke enough to get you high? 
If I am going to do something I want the "full" benefit from it!!! 
It's kinda like "doing the same thing expecting different results"!!!
